The airline Air India took delivery of the first Airbus A321neo at the end of last week. The machine has already been transferred from Hamburg (Finkenwerder) to Delhi, but has not yet been put into active scheduled service.
The Indian carrier recently made headlines with large orders placed with Airbus and Boeing . Its new majority owner, Tata Sons, intends to modernize the aging fleet as quickly as possible. Strong demand is expected to rise sharply on the subcontinent in the coming years.
The first Airbus A321neo was finally assembled in Hamburg and officially taken over by Air India on March 25, 2023. The medium-haul jet bears the Indian registration VT-RTD and is to be put into scheduled service shortly. It is the first of initially eight aircraft of this type that will be purchased through a lessor. As part of a large order placed directly with the European aircraft manufacturer, 70 Airbus A321neo are included.